One Summer League loss isn’t anything to panic about, but it’s certainly embarrassing for the Phoenix Suns, who are playing many of their NBA players.
The Phoenix Suns came into the Summer League playoffs at 3-0, taking on the 0-3 Sixers. The Summer League doesn’t mean much. Individual performances are far more important than wins and losses. But based on the quality of each roster, the Suns should’ve never lost that game.
The Suns roster should be way too good for any other team to compete. Last year’s fourth overall pick Josh Jackson has struggled mightily, but even after it was announced he would miss the rest of the Summer League, the team was still loaded with top draft picks.
The Suns are headlined by this year’s first pick in Deandre Ayton, tenth pick in Mikal Bridges, 31st pick in Elie Okobo, and 59th pick in George King. Last year’s 32nd pick Davon Reed is active. Shaquille Harrison is on the roster and could become a long-term piece in the rotation. Dragan Bender, a two year veteran and fourth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, is playing too.
This is the Suns future. Three top ten picks and seven significant pieces played for them in this game. And the Sixers retaliated with a roster devoid of almost all NBA talent. They lost this year’s 26th overall pick Landry Shamet early in the Summer League, so they’re down to just four players with any chance to make the NBA team.
One is this year’s 16th overall pick Zhaire Smith. Another is Furkan Korkmaz, the 26th overall pick from 2016 who’s played just 80 career NBA minutes. Jonah Bolden was the 36th pick last summer, and former second round pick Demetrius Jackson played three games with the Sixers at the end of last season. Of the four, only Smith is a lock to make the roster. And the Suns still lost.
This was also the first professional matchup of Mikal Bridges and Zhaire Smith, who were traded for each other on draft night. While both players had pretty solid nights, Smith did clinch the win for the Sixers on a takeaway from Bridges. After the Suns packaged a major asset along with Smith to go get Bridges, they would’ve liked to see Bridges come out looking like the clear better player. He didn’t.
Of course it’s just one meaningless Summer League game. The Suns aren’t doomed because a bunch of their young players had one bad night. And most importantly, Deandre Ayton’s Summer League play has met all of the high expectations surrounding it.
Next: Maybe Josh Jackson shouldn’t be a starter after all
But there’s no doubt it’s embarrassing when so many of your key pieces lose a game to a bunch of Summer League roster fillers. And the Bridges-Smith matchup only makes things worse. Losing to the Sixers isn’t any reason to stop being optimistic about the Phoenix Suns future. But it’s certainly embarrassing in the present.